Okee Dokee Brothers' river voyage nets a Grammy

Justin Lansing, left, and Joe Mailander of the musical duo The Okee Dokee Brothers pose backstage with the Best Children's Album Award for "Can You Canoe?" at the 55th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013 in Los Angeles. (Invision/AP: Matt Sayles)

Winning a Grammy for best children's album was the first surprise for Minnesota duo the Okee Dokee Brothers. The second surprise?

"How nice people are with all this hustle and bustle," said Joe Mailander during a phone call from Los Angeles after winning the Grammy during the pre-telecast ceremony Sunday, Feb. 10. "I usually get stressed out in tense situations, but this has been really comfortable."

Mailander and his lifelong friend Justin Lansing moved from Denver to the Twin Cities in 2007. They spent the summer of 2011 on a canoe trip down the Mississippi River, seeking inspiration for the songs that would end up on their album "Can You Canoe?" The pair never expected the voyage would end with a Grammy, but they did thank the Mississippi for inspiration when they accepted the award.

"The record was inspired by Minnesota," he said. "We're Colorado boys inspired by Minnesota culture."

The duo spent the weekend doing all things Grammy and occasionally found themselves starstruck. "We saw the lifetime achievement award when Norah Jones accepted the award for her father, Ravi Shankar, who died a few weeks ago. That was a pretty special moment," Mailander said.

And, of course, winning their own Grammy wasn't too shabby, either. "It took me a second to react," Mailander said. "Then I stood up and hugged Justin. We've been friends since we were 3 years old. It was such a meaningful moment, that our crazy adventures led us to this."

The pair return to Minnesota Monday night and face a full week of local concerts.

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They'll kick things off by playing "Toddler Tuesday" at 10 and 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Mall of America and follow up with a noontime gig Valentine's Day at Edinborough Park in Edina and a Saturday morning show at Wild Rumpus in Linden Hills.